Do Cigarettes Control Your Life?
Are You Ready to Stop Smoking And Quit The Nicotine Habit For Good?

In this article I want to share with you two strategies I used to stop smoking. If you really, truely want to quit smoking then I am pleased you found this site. I don't have a product, course or book to sell you - only some free advice that I hope you find useful.

With the first strategy I was able to stop my 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes a day habit to no cigarettes in just a few weeks. This lasted for 4 1/2 years and then I started again. How stupid was that?

The second strategy (actually more of a revelation) allowed me to go from a three pack a day habit to zero cigarettes immediately ("cold turkey")! That was over 20 years ago and I have never smoked a cigarette since - nor had the urge to smoke again.

Warning: At the bottom of this page is a disturbing photo of a smoker's lung. If you
don't like seeing such photos, don't read past Strategy #2.

Reasons to Quit Smoking - How Many Do You Know?

You are probably familiar with many reasons why it is a good idea to stop smoking: your health; the expense; laws being passed to restrict smoking; exposing others to second-hand smoke. These are all good reasons to quit but only if you are committed. Someone else can't want this for you. It has to be your idea and follow-thru if you are to succeed.

Do you know what good things happen to your body after you quit smoking?

Your heart rate drops 20 minutes after quitting
The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal 12 hours after quitting
Your lung function begins to improve and your risk of heart attack begins to drop in just a few weeks to a few months after quitting
Your shortness of breath and coughing decrease in 1-9 months after quitting
Your added risk for coronary heart disease is 1/2 that of a smoker after 1 year
Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker after five to 15 years
Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decreases 10 years after you quit. Also your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smokers after 10 years.
Your risk of coronary heart disease is back to that of a nonsmoker after 15 years of quitting.

Source: US Department of Health & Human Services

Are You Ready To Get Started? Great!

Strategy #1 For Quitting Smoking

If you don't feel you are ready to quit smoking "cold turkey" then consider this 7-10 day strategy. It worked for me once and if I hadn't decided to try a cigarette just for the fun of it (after 4 1/2 years) it would have accomplished the mission just fine.

Develop A Stop Smoking Plan!

You must have a "stop smoking plan" or your odds of kicking the habit are remote. It can be very tough to quit an addictive habit that you may have had for many years. A little planning goes a long way. There are two main pieces of the plan you must develop:

Identify Times You Have The Greatest Urge To Smoke. These will be the times you are most vulnerable to failing in your mission. Things like stress, boredom, alcohol and sweets such as candy or desserts are common smoking "temptations".

Develop Specific Plans To Counter These Urges. This may consist of certain actions you take, products you use or situations you avoid. If you can come up with a specific plan to counter your urge to smoke for each "temptation" you have identified in the first step, you can beat this nasty habit.

"I'm Going To Stop Putting Things Off Starting Tomorrow"

Don't be tempted to keep delaying your start date of when to quit smoking. The only time to delay is when you know of a time (in the near future) that would be a better start date - one that may be relatively stress-free but still allow you to stay busy.

On day one, start your day with fruit instead of a cigarette. I found oranges work good since cigarettes taste like crap after eating an orange. Bananas are good too. Bananas contain B6 and B12 as well as potassium and magnesium - reported to help the body recover from nicotine withdrawal.

Keep substituting some of the cigarettes you normally smoke with fruit, mints (Lifesavers worked for me too) or one of the stop smoking "solutions" on the market (see below). And start the process of clearing your lungs by breathing deep and exhaling slowly - especially when you are dying for a cigarette. It seems to help.

This should be your routine for the next 7-10 days. Keep cutting down on the number of cigarettes you smoke each day until you break the habit. Avoid the situations identified as vulnerable in your plan. Let family, friends and co-workers know of your efforts to kick the habit and ask for their support. Work your plan and you will be able to stop smoking!

Strategy #2 For Quitting Smoking - "Cold Turkey"

Before I share my views on what it takes to quit smoking "cold turkey", I have a question for you. Take this little quiz which will give you the secret to being able to quit successfully.

Two friends of yours, both smokers, tell you they have decided to stop smoking.

Person #1 "I have decided to quit smoking. I know its bad for me and my family is after me to quit. I don't like standing outside or in special areas to smoke. Besides it is getting too expensive. So next week, I am stopping."

Person #2 "I have finally had it with smoking. Last night I ran to the store after midnight because I was almost out of cigarettes. That's when I realized how much I plan my life around cigarettes - where and when I can smoke them. If I can't have one for a few hours, I am irritable and on edge. If I'm low on cigarettes, I have to get more or its a crises. This is stupid, I'm quiting as of now and never buying another one."

Considering only about one in 20 people that try to quit smoking "cold turkey" are successful, which one do you think will probably make it?

An easy choice, right? Person #2 stands a much better chance of quitting because the committment is there. A deep-down committment that just tells a person enough-is-enough. My deep-down committment came when I could no longer catch my breath after climbing a flight of stairs. You know, that deep satisfying breath your body craves? I went from three packs a day to no packs immediately and never had the desire for another one again.

Are you there yet? Is your desire to quit so strong that you will let nothing stand in your way? If so, then the "message" is already sinking into your concious and sub-conscious mind. Start thinking and acting like a non-smoker. It almost guarantees you will be successful.

Now you know the secret to being able to successfully stop smoking "cold turkey".

lungandsmoking

Can you believe this picture is of a smoker's lung (courtesy of CDC/Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr.)? The caption
states "Gross pathology of lung showing centrilobular emphysema characteristic of smoking."

But aren't lungs supposed to be pink? Yes, if you don't smoke or have quit for several years. But if you continue to smoke, your lungs could get like this. By the way, those dark spots are heavy black carbon deposits.

Stop Smoking Summary

You now have two strategies to stop smoking. Give the "cold turkey" method a go if you are at that stage. If it seems a little more than you are ready for at this time, then go with strategy #1 and work your plan.

Here's the good news for you - there are more "tools" in your battle to quit smoking than when I went thru this process. Products such as Nicocure, CigArrest, Zero Nicotine, NicRX, Cig-Arette, Nicorette, Chantix and the newer varenicline products all came out after I had already quit.

You may want to research some of these products, see what they offer, pay attention to side effects (if any) and, if it seems right, select one or two as likely candidates for your use. They then become part of your plan. It doesn't matter what you use as long as it is safe for you and you follow the directions and heed the precautions. Because, when it comes to something as important as quitting the smoking habit, the end definitely justifies the means.

Believe in yourself. Believe you have the power to succeed. And you will succeed.

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Disclaimer:I have made every reasonable effort to produce an informative and helpful article on how to Stop Smoking based on my research and experiences. However, I make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation or purpose. See our Warranty Policy for more info.

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